Contents

Sean and Billy make arrangements for the Rovers to be decorated for the butler auction but neither Liz nor Michelle are impressed with the list of Kevin, Tyrone, Kal, Sharif and Sean himself as the men to bid for. Steve isn't happy to hear Michelle talking about a long engagement. Nick prepares to drive Bethany to the airport but she isn't happy about having to leave. Tim suspects Faye and Craig are up to something. Craig tells her that he'll agree to the baby being born in the flat on one condition. Steve broods over Michelle, worrying that she doesn’t really want to marry him. A reluctant David takes Max for a kick-about with Callum. Determined to miss the flight, Bethany throws away Nick's car keys and runs off. A small stage is built in the Rovers for the auction. Michelle says there’s no rush to buy an engagement ring and Steve's doubts multiply. Tony asks Liz to keep quiet about the tax bill assistance. Steve tells Michelle he can't understand why she wants to marry him and he loves her too much to let her be saddled with a loser like him. Convinced his illness makes him a burden to her, he calls off the engagement. Craig wants to do a rehearsal run for the baby's birth, taking the child to hospital afterwards. They use a bag of potatoes in a bag to stand in for a baby. Andrea comforts Michelle and tells her to go out and grab what she wants in life. David is riled by Callum during the kick-about. Tracy is upset to hear that a large cash converters is opening on Tile Street. Todd mischievously informs Tracy that Tony’s sold Jason’s house. Todd finds Bethany hiding in Barlow's Buys and hands her over to Nick. She defiantly insists he cannot force her to board a plane. Steve can't be found. Max wants to go for a pizza with Callum but David refuses. Leanne sees Steve in the park and finds out from him that the engagement's off. Craig's bag is snatched off him as he waits for a bus by two thugs and is dropped in the gutter. Tracy gets dolled up and gives Todd the rest of the day off. Leanne listens to Steve's explanations about the engagement. She tells him not to do anything that he'll regret for the rest of his life. Emily asks Sean to keep his hosting of the auction clean. Lloyd hears from Steve. Michelle decides to take charge of the situation and asks for Liz and Andrea's help. Craig tells Faye they need a new plan. Gail phones to tell a furious Sarah that Bethany missed her flight. Michelle prepares the Rovers' back room with candles, determined to marry Steve. Tracy gets dolled up and summons Tony to the closed shop where she seduces him. Emily gets upset at some of the language in the bar in front of her church friends. The auction begins with Kal and Sharif first up with Yasmeen bidding £100 for them by phone as she has a long list of jobs she needs doing round the house. Post-coital Tracy drops hints to Tony about expanding the business. He sees right through her but tells her he'll think about it. Arranged by Michelle, Lloyd forces Steve back to the Rovers. One of Emily's friends, Maggie, wins Kevin and another, Celia, wins Tyrone. Sophie is ill and has to drop out of being up for auction and, at Jenny's stirring suggestion, Sally is forced to take her place with Norris, Gail and Jenny bidding for her, all with the intention of making her do all their housework for them. Stung by comments made by Emily that he's tight-fisted, Norris bids £100 and wins. Steve returns to the pub and goes into the back room to see it filled with candles. He thinks Tony's done it and tears into him in the bar. Michelle summons Steve on to the stage where she tells him how much she loves him in front of the regulars. She goes down on one knee and formally proposes to him. Everyone cheers as he accepts.

TV Times synopsis: Steve is rattled when Michelle mentions having a long engagement, worried that she doesn't really want to marry him and only agreed out of pity; Bethany determines to miss her flight, so throws away Nick's car keys; and Sean and Billy host the butlers' auction at The Rovers.